Send a Raven
by theblackbrumby
Summary: Two best friends are thrown into a reality that they just can't seem to grasp, the world is different from their own and they have to battle through love, proving their loyalty, honor and their willing hearts. Not everything is easy in a land you hardly know, where new threats seem to pop up at every moment. Follow Raven and T-bird on an adventure they'll never forget. (AU)
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien, I write for my own guilty pleasure.**

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 **Prologue: Raven and the t-bird.**

"This is the last time I take direction advice from a female, I don't trust anything that can bleed for a week and survive." Raven glared and shifted the pack on his back, his hunting bow strung over his shoulder. A young woman with dark chocolate brown hair trailed along behind him, her lungs out of breath and a scowl across her usually cheerful face.

"Do you want your testicles or not?" she seethed; teeth bared as she shifted her own pack and growled as it dug into her back. Her hunting knife was strapped to her thigh and her own bow was slung across her back, the forest around them was all but quiet, save for the gentle bubble of a river off to their left.

"Seriously, we should be back at camp by now. If it wasn't for your hiccup we would have dinner." Raven turned around and glared at her, fire in his usually cool blue eyes. He was starving and he would have to wait until the morning to go hunting again, running a hand through his light brown hair he felt his lip twitch with annoyance.

"Stop being an ass, I drank from my water bottle too quickly and it was unavoidable. Focus on where we are going rather than basking in my beauty…" She stared hard at him, he chuckled and turned around – that was better. She could watch his ass again through his dark cargo pants.

"T-bird, you're gonna be the death of me one day." He shook his head and powered on, there was a chuckle behind him but they continued on in silence. Hours passed and the day became night, Raven dropped his pack and went to gather firewood silently. He would not forgive her for doing this again to him, twice on their trip had she hiccupped and scared away prey.

As they set up a makeshift campsite, Tori built the fire and collapsed next to it before rummaging and rearranging her pack for her beef jerky. The night life began to sing around them, the stars appeared through the leafy canopy.

"Thanks for convincing me to go hunting again Rave," her brown eyes were watching the sky, Raven munched on his evening meal as he watched her thoughtfully. He knew she was just taking it all in again, it had been a year since he had seen her this relaxed. A year since she had been attacked by the mountain lion which was a fluke she survived.

"My pleasure T-bird." He said quietly and allowed his blue eyes to scan their surroundings, he was feeling very protective of the young girl in front of him and refused to let any more harm come to her. It had taken him a month straight worth of convincing but finally she relented, he knew she only came because he swore he wouldn't bail this time.

The pair settled into their usual evening routine of watching the campsite, Raven was wide awake just before dawn and he shook Tori awake. With a face she sat up and stretched, Raven had placed his coat over her throughout the night while she used her own as a pillow. With silence they packed up and put out the fire, it was game time.

Tightening their packs to their back, they slung their bows and headed off into the woods once more with Raven in the lead who was following a pair of fresh deer tracks. The pair were light on their feet, their noises fading easily into the forest and they caused no alarm to the animals around them. Raven paused and waved his hand for a halt, the wind had changed. He signalled for Tori to move around him and go towards the right. They were close, she knew it. Tori felt her blood pumping with adrenaline, this is what she loved most. Being with her best friend and traipsing through the wilderness as they left their reality of life behind.

Raven paused, inclined his head and drew his bow as he dropped to his knee. Tori drew hers and stood just behind him, before them stood a young buck eating grass not to far away. In a synchronized release, their arrows flew through the air and met their mark. Raven's struck the spine which would render it paralysed and Tori's flew true through the eye socket, killing it instantly.

The boy looked over his shoulder at a very smug looking Tori, she definitely hadn't lost her touch. Breakfast was served.

After preparing the meat and disposing of the carcass, the pair began to head up the mountain when they finally realized that clouds had began to cover the sky – they were dark and the pair could smell the rain on the wind. With hurried footsteps, they looked for cover and made sure they were well away from the river. There was a flash of lightning and a loud rumble, Raven and Tori looked at each other in panic before looking to where the loud crashing noise had come from. Both paled and began to run from the rockslide that was rushing towards them.

The pair ran with all their might, the mighty rumble of the rockslide was getting close and they were running out of escape options. "You idiot!" Tori screamed as they ran down the hillside, jumping over rocks and sliding with practiced ease.

"Not my fault!" he screamed back, his face red and fear etched on his face. Realization dawned on the pair and Raven made a grab for Tori, the rockslide was upon them and they knew what was going to happen next.

Suddenly, all went black.


	2. Chapter 1: Send in the kite

**Chapter 1: Send in the kite**

Tori woke up in a daze, looking at the roof of what looked to be a tent. Confused, she carefully moved her fingers and toes to come to the conclusion that she didn't think anything was broken. Twisting her head to the side, she saw another stretcher with a woman fast asleep. However the strange thing was that the blankets she was wrapped up in were made of animal furs, thick and soft. They smelt of wood fire smoke and there was a minor hint of sweat. A look of confusion swept across her face and she pushed herself up into a sitting position – where was Raven? A panic took over her body and her heart began to race.

Pushing back the covers she looked to see that she wasn't wearing her normal clothes, she was wearing brown leather pants, a simple long sleeved tunic and a bodice? On her feet were a pair of thick woollen socks that definitely weren't hers; shifting she finally felt the damage she had acquired during the rockslide. Her whole body actually ached and she knew that there was definitely some form of severe bruising, her head was fuzzy but the pain was still there. With a groan she spied a pair of leather boots next to her bed and reached for them, pain shocked her body and her arm recoiled. A whimper escaped her lips and the door of the tent flew open. Before her stood a stout man with long grey hair, he had a raised eyebrow and his eyes were gentle. His beard had plaited looped braids, worry lines were prominent on his face.

"Now lassie, you were in a rockslide. You shouldn't be moving jus' yet." The man said as he offered her an odd looking tea. He was dressed in clothes that had seen better days and it almost looked like he was going to comic con. Where was Raven? Leaning back against her pillow, she thought of what would happen next. She had to get out and tell them to stop acting, she must've either really banged her head or was she involved in a serious LARP camp. It could've happened, she had attended a few different events in the past.

"My name is Óin, you and your friends were in a rockslide. Lucky the three of you weren't killed, however your injuries may take a little bit longer to heal." His voice was gentle, soothing. Three? Three of us?

Tori was definitely feeling a lot more confused now, where had she heard that name from before? Something was nagging at her but she couldn't just quite remember, she must've definitely hit her head hard.

"My friend, Raven – where is he? Is he ok?" she rasped out, Tori hadn't realized how dry her mouth was and realized she was holding the wooden cup in her hands; she took a drink and pulled a face, but it was quenching her thirst.

"The lad is fine, he is in his own stretcher next door in a deep sleep. He woke during the night and called out for you, we settled him back down with the same herbs I am giving you now." Still a soft voice, probably so Óin didn't wake the other person in the other bed. The world started to become hazy once more and Tori passed the cup to Óin.

"I am only doing this so you sleep through the worst of the pain…" he tucked her in back under the warm covers where she slipped back into sleep.

 _Deep within the rolling hills of Rohan, Tori felt as if she were flying. Looking beneath her, a white horse galloped with purposeful strides, his ears pricked forward with determination._

 _Beside her a woman with long, pale blonde hair appeared. She was Elven and was riding her own horse. The pair pulled their mounts to a halt before dismounting._

" _You are not of this world, who are you?" her voice was a gentle ring, music to Tori's ears. Tori raised a brow, this was only a dream. She looked at the world around her and felt something niggling deep within her mind but she couldn't put her finger on it. Looking down at her attire, it was from a time that definitely wasn't her own. She was wearing long underwear, a bodice, thick socks, heavy boots, a tunic, a jerkin and a heavy duty cloak. At her throat was a clasp made of a fine metal, glittering in the sun. At her side she felt the weight of a sword, in her boot there was a hidden dagger. On her back she felt the weight of a heavy pack, but also a bow with a full quiver of arrows._

" _I don't know."_

" _But somewhere deep down, you know." The blonde woman raised a hand and touched Tori on the face. Her hand was soft but firm, and made Tori look her straight in the eye. Tori didn't flinch, she was captivated by this woman's eyes._

" _Life is not what you perceive it to be, even the smallest person can change the course of history."_

" _Who are you?" Tori said, something niggled deep with in her gut and it made her uneasy. She shifted away from the woman and felt her hand hovering over her sword. Tori had heard that saying somewhere before, it was just blocked in her mind. What was she doing? This was only just a dream. This was ridiculous._

" _Our paths will cross one day, child of the stars. You and your friends must not use your real names, learn about the ways of those around you. Gain their trust, it is crucial to your survival."_

Tori lurched away from the dream and blurry eyes met a darkened roof tent. With a groan she rolled onto her side which brought on a considerable amount of pain, then she saw that the person in the other stretcher was awake and was looking remarkably confused.

"It seems I lost my brakes…" the woman said, her voice was raspy and Tori nodded. She was warm but still quite achy. She knew she needed to stand up and move around to work out her muscles, so silently she grabbed the boots in front of her and pulled them on. They were thick with furs and were very comfortable; she stretched her arms above her head and felt her shoulders pop. Shifting around, she found a cloak at the end of her bed but noticed the clasp from her dream. Frowning, she checked her remaining clothes and felt a cold shiver go through her body. They were identical save for the weaponry which wasn't anywhere in sight. She pushed the flap of the tent open and peered out. Scattered around the fire were an assortment of sleeping men, they were varying in size but appeared to be short and stout.

"Are you well?" Came a voice to her side, making her jump a little bit and her brown eyes met blue. A young man with blonde hair and a beard to match joined her. He wasn't much shorter than her, about a foot or so. Feeling confusion sweep her face, she looked at him closely. He didn't appear to be as old as the other gentleman that came into the tent but there was something about him that spoke volumes.

"I need to uh – "Tori started, a blush covered her cheeks. Thankfully the young man seemed to understand and nodded to a particular clump of bushes. He turned away but she could've sworn a blush covered his cheeks.

"Don't wander too far," he said with an edge to his voice, Tori struggled to get her muscles working and waddled awkwardly away muttering the occasional _ouch_ as she stumbled over tree branches. Hissing at the aches and pains, she reminded herself that this wasn't as bad as when the mountain lion had ripped her open. There were much worse things in the world and that was it, this was nothing. She was alive and she could breathe, that was the positive that tried to shine through the pain.

The man she encountered before her call to nature stood away from the fire, scanning the trees. Stiffly, she wandered over with muttered curses under her breath before coming to a stand still. Studying him for a moment, she looked away to the tree line and saw an owl watching them.

"I am Fili," he responded quietly, she felt his eyes on her as she scanned the trees. The forest was alive, the night birds called and the river gurgled quietly a little way off. Perhaps he was still in role play, looking out for the enemy team and she should just play along with it.

"T-bird." Her voice was soft, quiet. The herbs were still in her system and it began to make her mind fuzzy once more until a growl came from her stomach. The young man chuckled and left her side, returning with a thick stew in a wooden bowl. It smelled divine, the herbs let off an amazing aroma.

"One of Bombour's finest, rabbit stew with wild vegetables." He grinned proudly, his chest puffing up a little. Smiling, Tori raised the bowl to her mouth and took a sip. It really tasted amazing and her stomach was aching from hunger. Her eyes looked towards the tent where Óin said Raven was.

"Hmmmm…" She mused, savoring the flavour on her tongue before swallowing. The heat of the stew seemed to sink into her bones and warmed her even more. Fili had gone back to watching the tree line with practiced eyes.

"Is my friend Raven ok?" she asked quietly, he gave a soft nod and briefly looked at her.

"He ate while you were sleeping and he went back to sleep. Óin's herbs tend to do that." He was short with his answer but she shrugged, she hardly knew the guy.

"Is it possible to get another bowl for the woman in my tent, she was awake when I woke."

Fili nodded and went to refill the bowl, then he returned and handed it to her. It was a silent dismissal but she didn't mind, her body was feeling weak again.

Pushing the tent flap, the woman looked up at her with a raised brow.

"Someone called Bombour made this stew, it's really good. Are you hungry?" Eagerly she nodded and attempted to sit up, Tori helped her and she took the stew in her hands.

"It smells so good," She mused, holding the bowl to her mouth and taking a swig.

"I don't mean to be bold, but what's your name?" Tori mused as she pulled off her leather boots and slipped back into the furs, thankful they had held the warmth of her body.

"Kite.." She replied between mouthfuls. Tori rolled carefully onto her side and watched the woman with curiousity.

"Am I safe to presume that there is another reason for you to call yourself that?" She whispered, and Kite gave her a sidelong glance and a brief nod. Perhaps the Elven woman had visited her in her dreams as well or maybe it was just the 'herbs' in general.

"Friend or foe?" Tori yawned, snuggling down into the furs so that only her nose and eyes were poking out.

"Friend, you?"

"Friend and my other friend, Raven is a friend as well. Do you by any chance have a feeling you can't remember anything before the rockslide?"

Kite gave a brief nod, finishing her stew and snuggling down into her blankets again. A look of contempt on her face, Tori felt her eyes starting to droop and soon she was in a comfortable slumber.


End file.
